Gidget Fraser

Mommy Perfect wants to wish those of you in the United States of America a Happy Thanksgiving. The first nation in history to set aside a day just to be grateful. Gratitude, after all, is essential to happiness (the pursuit of happiness being a unique founding principal of America).

So many of us in the modern western world live a life so comfortable (relative to other nations) that we may tend to believe that “life owes us”; owes us a living, owes us happiness, owes us good fortune. None of that is true, of course. We are not entitled to anything other than the equal opportunity to pursue our life as we wish to live it (so long as we do no harm to others). That does not mean that we are guaranteed happiness, only the ability to pursue it.

Its good for our minds and our souls to take stock of what we have to be grateful for. Here is an old video from the 1950s that shares some of these same ideas. Before you get all caught up in watching department store parades, football games, preparing or eating a feast, please give this short video a watch and see what you think about its message. (The acting and production quality is a bit low, but look beyond that.) Notice that even in the 50s — the “glorious and idyllic 50s” — Americans had similar vain emphasis on materialism as we do today, and financial or familial struggles are not new either.

Share this with your friends and family and let us know in the comments below what you are thankful for. Enjoy!